Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Nu'man al-'Ukbari al-Baghdadi, known as al-Shaykh al-Mufid () and Ibn al-Mu'allim (c.9481022 CE), was a prominent Iraqi
Twelver
Twelver Shi'ism (), also known as Imamism () or Ithna Ashari, is the Islamic schools and branches, largest branch of Shia Islam, Shi'a Islam, comprising about 90% of all Shi'a Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers to its adherents' belief in twel ...
Shia theologian
Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...
.
His father was a teacher (''mu'allim''), hence the name Ibn al-Mu'allim. The title "al-Mufid" was given to him either by
Muhammad al-Mahdi, the twelfth Shia Imam,
or by al-Rummani, a Mu'tazilite scholar, after a conversation with him.
The leader of the Shia community,
he was a
mutakallim, theologian, and Shia jurist.
He was taught by
Al-Shaykh al-Saduq,
Ibn Qulawayh,
Abu Abdallah al-Basri and al-Rummani, and
Sharif al-Murtaza and
Shaykh Tusi were among his students. Only 10 of his 200 works have survived, among which are ''Amali'', ''Al-Irshad'', ''Al-Muqni'ah'', and ''Tashih al-Itiqadat''.
Early life and education
Al-Mufid was born in
'Ukbara, a small town to the north of
Baghdad
Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
, on 11th
Dhul Qa'dah in 336
Hijra. According to Shaykh Tusi, however, he was born in 338
AH,
and later migrated with his father to
Baghdad
Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
, where the
Shia Buwayhids were ruling. He studied with
Ibn Babawayh.
Sharif al-Murtaza and
Shaykh Tusi were among his students. His career coincided with that of the
Mu'tazili
Mu'tazilism (, singular ) is an Islamic theological school that appeared in early Islamic history and flourished in Basra and Baghdad. Its adherents, the Mu'tazilites, were known for their neutrality in the dispute between Ali and his opponents ...
theologian and leader of the
Bahshamiyya school,
'Abd al-Jabbar. Al-Mufid was often attacked, and his library and school were destroyed.
He was also called Ibn Muallim, meaning "son of the teacher";
Muallim was his father. Among his teachers were the
Shia theologian Abu Ali al-Iskafi, Abu Abdallah al-Marzubani, Abu Abdallah al-Basri, Abu al-Hassan, and Ali ibn Isa al-Rummani.
Commonly known as the leader of the Shia,
Al-Mufid is regarded as the most famous scholar of the
Buyid period and an eminent
jurist
A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...
,
mainly due to his contributions in the field of
kalam. According to
Ibn al-Nadim, who knew al-Mufid personally, he was the head of the Shia ''Mutekallimun'' in the field of kalam, and
al-Tawhidi, who was also personally familiar with al-Mufid, described him as "eloquent and skillful at dialectic (''jadal'')". His skill in polemical debate was such that he was said to be capable of convincing his opponents "that a wooden column was actually gold".
He was taught the Islamic science of
hadith
Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...
by
Al-Shaykh al-Saduq.
His nickname "al-Mufid"
It is said that al-Mufid earned his name "al-Mufid" as a result of a dispute about the relative merits of two events, the
Ghadir Khumm and the Cave. Al-Mufid participated in a lecture given by Isa al-Rummani, where in a response to a question al-Rummani claimed that Ghadir Khum was based merely on ''riwayah'' (transmitted tradition), while the story of the Cave was based on ''diraya'' (knowledge). After the lecture, al-Mufid visited al-Rummani and asked him about
Aisha
Aisha bint Abi Bakr () was a seventh century Arab commander, politician, Muhaddith, muhadditha and the third and youngest wife of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad.
Aisha had an important role in early Islamic h ...
,
Talha, and
Zubayr, who had rebelled against
Ali, "a legitimate Imam". Al-Rummani responded that they had repented, and al-Mufid claimed that their repenting was merely based on ''riwaya,'' whereas the war was based in ''diraya''. Al-Rummani then sent al-Mufid to al-Basri, with a note nicknaming the bearer "al-Mufid" ("the Instructor").
However, according to
Ibn Shahr Ashub, in his ''Ma'alimul Ulamaa'', the name was given to him by
Muhammad al-Mahdi, the twelfth Shia Imam.
As a theologian
Taught by Abdallah al-Basri, the
Mutazili theologian and
hanafi
The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest Madhhab, school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the Faqīh, jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the ...
jurist,
al-Mufid adopted many theological opinions.
Macdermott believes that al-Mufid's theology is closer to the old
Baghdad
Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
school of Mutazilism than to Abdul Jabbar's late Basran system. His methodology is closer to that of the Baghdad school, and he seems to have followed the Baghdad school and Mutazilism in his views concerning such questions as God's unity and justice. However, al-Mufid differs from Mutazilism on the problem of
Imamate
The term imamate or ''imamah'' (, ''imāmah'') means "leadership" and refers to the office of an ''imam'' or a Muslim theocratic state ruled by an ''imam''.
Theology
*Imamate in Shia doctrine, the doctrine of the leadership of the Muslim commu ...
and the position of grave sin in this life. Al-Mufid tried to defend the role of reasonhe described it as Al-Nazarand also disputed for the truth and put away faults with the help of argument and proofs. Also, al-Mufid believed that the task of a theologian was according to reason and argument. His views were adopted by his pupils,
'Abd al-Jabbar and
Sharif al-Murtaza.
God's attributes
Al-Mufid defined God's unity in this way: According to al-Mufid, all believers in God's unity, save for "some eccentric anthropomorphists", agree with this. Like
Mutazilis, al-Mufid rejected "the simple realism of the Ash'arite theory of attribution". However, al-Mufid and 'Abd al-Jabbar give different explanations of what an attribute is, and whether it is in an object or in the mind.
Prophecy
According to al-Mufid, there is an absolute necessity for
prophet
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...
s, since in order to know
God
In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
and moral principles man needs
revelation
Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...
, and he noted that "every
apostle (''rasul'') is a prophet but every prophet (''nabi'') is not an apostle". Although he took care to make a distinction between an apostle and a prophet as the
Quran
The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
does, he did not believe that there was a difference in their functions, which enabled him to put the
Imams on the level of the prophets and the apostles except in terms of their names.
Imamah
Al-Mufid defined the ''Imamiya'' as those who believe in the necessity of
Imamah
The term imamate or ''imamah'' (, ''imāmah'') means "leadership" and refers to the office of an ''imam'' or a Muslim theocratic state ruled by an ''imam''.
Theology
*Imamate in Shia doctrine, the doctrine of the leadership of the Muslim commu ...
,
Ismah
''‘Iṣmah'' or ''‘Isma'' (; literally, "protection") is the concept of incorruptible innocence, immunity from sin, or moral infallibility in Islamic theology, and which is especially prominent in Shia Islam. In Shia theology, ''ismah'' is ch ...
and personal ''
nass'', i.e., personal designation. He tended to the belief that the
Imams are superior to all the prophets and apostles, with the exception of
Muhammad
Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
. According to al-Mufid, Imams can "take the place of the prophets in enforcing judgments, seeing to the execution of the legal penalties, safeguarding the Law, and educating mankind", a definition which makes an Imam not only "the head of the community in administrative, judicial, and military matters", but an "authoritative teacher of mankind". This attitude regarding Shia Imam is the basis of other teaching in Mufid theology such as Imam's immunity from sin and error, the necessity of having an imam in all the times and the way the Imam should be designated.
His criticisms of Al-Shaykh al-Saduq
On a number of occasions al-Mufid was critical of his teacher,
Al-Shaykh al-Saduq, and his ''Tashih al-Itiqadat'' was a correction of al-Saduq's ''Risalat al-Itaqadat''. Not limiting himself to theological matters, al-Mufid rejected al-Saduq's resort to ''akhbar al-ahad'' (single tradition), particularly when a legal statement is to be issued. However, he did not object to al-Saduq's views concerning the extent of the
Quran
The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
; he only criticized his views on the nature of the Quran.
Unlike al-Saduq, al-Mufid accepted "religious and speculative theology".
While al-Saduq allowed controversy "only in the form of quoting and explaining the words of God, the Prophet, and the Imams", reporting a tradition from
Ja'far al-Sadiq
Ja'far al-Sadiq (; –765) was a Muslim hadith transmitter and the last agreed-upon Shia Imam between the Twelvers and Isma'ilis. Known by the title al-Sadiq ("The Truthful"), Ja'far was the eponymous founder of the Ja'fari school of Isla ...
, the sixth Imam of Shia, al-Mufid believed that there were two kinds of disputationnamely, "true" and "vain".
Works
Shaykh al-Mufid is said to have written 200 works, of which only a few more than ten have survived.
Some of his works are as follows:
* ''
Al-Amali (of Shaykh Mufid)'', also known as "''Al-Majaalis''", traditions recorded by al-Mufid's pupils during the sessions where al-Mufid gave the chain of narration ending up with himself
* ''Tashih al-Itiqadat'', a correction of
al-Saduq's ''Risalat al-Itiqadat''
* َ''
Awail Al Maqalat'', an elaboration of al-Mufid's theology and "a practical catalogue of Imamite positions on disputed questions"
* ''
Kitab al-Irshad'' or ''Al-Irshad fi ma'rifat hujaj Allah 'ala al-'ibad'', on the lives of the
Shia Imams
* ''Al-Fusul al-`Ashara fi al-Ghaybah''
* ''Ahkam al-Nisa'', on legal obligations regarding women
* Fifth Risalah on Ghaybah
* ''Al-Muqni'ah'' (''The Legally Sufficient'') The commentary on this book by
Shaykh Tusi, ''Tadhhib al-Ahkam fi Sharh al-Muqni'ah'', is among the Shia
four books
The Four Books and Five Classics are authoritative and important books associated with Confucianism, written before 300 BC. They are traditionally believed to have been either written, edited or commented by Confucius or one of his disciples. S ...
.
Tawqīʿ
Al-Mufid received two
Tawqīʿs by
Muhammad al-Mahdi during
major occultation.
Death
Al-Mufid died on the third day of
Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...
in 413AH. According to the
Shia writer
Shaykh Tusi, "The day of his death drew the largest crowd ever seen in any funeral, and both friends and foes wept uncontrollably". He remained buried in his own house for two years, after which his body was moved to
Al Kadhimiya Mosque and buried next to his teacher, Ibn Qulawayh al-Qummi. His grave is near the feet of two of the
Shia Imams,
Musa al-Kadhim and his grandson
Muhammad al-Jawad.
In popular culture
The ninth day of
Azar in
Iran's official calendar is the commemoration day of Shaykh al-Mufid.
An image of Mofid has been shown as imaginary in a paint.
See also
*
Muhammad al-Kulaynī
*
Allāmah Majlisī
*
Shaykh al-Hur al-Āmilī
*
Ja'fari jurisprudence
*
Holiest sites in Islam
The holiest sites in Islam are located in the Middle East. While the significance of most places typically varies depending on the Islamic schools and branches, Islamic sect, there is a consensus across all mainstream branches of the religion tha ...
Secondary studies
* Paul Sander, Zwischen Charisma und Ratio, Berlin, 1994
* Tamima Bayhom-Daou, Shaykh Mufid, Makers of the Muslim World, Oxford, 2005
References
External links
Al-AmaliKitab al-IrshadKarbala Historical ResourcesThe Emendation of a Shi‘ite CreedKitab Al-Irshad
{{DEFAULTSORT:Al-Shaykh Al-Mufid
948 births
1022 deaths
10th-century Arab people
11th-century Arab people
Iraqi Shia Muslims
Shia scholars of Islam
Academics from Baghdad
Scholars under the Buyid dynasty
10th-century Twelvers
11th-century Twelvers